Most people remember where they were on 9/11. I remember where I was on 9/10.
In April of 2001, I got a traffic ticket. No biggie, right? Well, to me it was.
I know every "violator" is innocent in their own mind but this is the story to the best that I remember it…and my wife, who is much more objective than me, can verify it.
My family and I had just dropped off a friend at the airport in Philadelphia. I had my three year old and one year old sons in the back seat. My pregnant wife in the front seat. We were driving back home. It was Saturday night, early dusk, and we were not in a hurry.
About two miles from our house, we came to a traffic light in the little town of South River. It was the intersection of Reid and Main Streets, an exceptionally wide intersection since the two roads that cross there are at a catty corner. The speed limit through the town was 25 mph. I was putting along at this speed.
As I neared the intersection, the light at the beginning of the intersection turned yellow. I was too close to stop so I continued going through. But as I passed under the light at the end of the intersection, it turned red.
I remember commenting to Liz. "Wow, that was a quick light!"
No sooner had I said that when blue lights started flashing in my rear view mirror. For a second, I hoped they would pass by but instead they settled in right on my bumper. I pulled over.
At this point I made the cardinal mistake in any encounter with a police officer during a traffic violation. I claimed innocence.
"What did I do?" I said…with an innocent look and an incredulous voice.
The lady officer shot back her reply. "Sir, you just blew through that light!"
Okay, I have sped up on many occasions to make it through a yellow light. I know what it is like to "blow through" a light. But this was not one of those cases. There was no hurry. No sense of getting home faster. No angst at the world. I was enjoying the time…until that moment.
The more I stated my case, the more I angered the police lady. And by the end of our friendly conversation, I had a traffic ticket and a court date.
I was not a happy camper.
My first court date was May 14. Then it got rescheduled to June 25. Part of me thought that I should just go in and pay the ticket. End the whole ordeal. But my sense of justice, and my realization of the increased insurance costs, started to get the best of me.
I had to go back and look at that traffic light. I did a few days later. I noticed that it turned from yellow to red incredibly quick. I timed it. 3 seconds. Out of curiosity I timed the other lights in town. 4 seconds.
An internet search led me to an article entitled "A Little Bit of Yellow." It talked about cities changing one light in town to a shorter yellow and then stationing cops nearby. The article concluded with these words, "The short yellow trap is a gold mine for enterprising cities."
I looked at the new South River courthouse under construction up the road and nodded my head in righteous agreement.
The next few weeks and months had me doing internet research, talking to my lawyer brother-in-law in another state, and finding out that I wasn't the first or the last with a traffic violation at that intersection. In fact, as I stood in line to see the district attorney, the person in front of me and behind me had the exact same traffic violation! It was too much to swallow. I was not only standing up for my rights but for all those who had suffered injustice at the intersection of Reid and Main.
I pleaded innocent with the DA and another court date was set for July 30. Then it was rescheduled again to September 10.
By the time the court date rolled around, I had a whole manila folder of information. Pictures of the traffic light…even a video of it if the judge wanted to see it. A diagram of the intersection with my best measurements. And a mathematical formula showing that it was technically impossible to obey the speed limit and make it through that long intersection under a three second yellow. And, best of all, my eight month pregnant wife was ready to testify on my behalf.
I guess I had watched too many court dramas on TV.
Before I could even bring out my diagram, the DA raised about 14 objections to the judge. "Objection, Your Honor, the defendant does not have a certified survey of the intersection." "Objection! He cannot submit that evidence to the court!" "Objection! He cannot prove those calculations!" "Objection! Objection! Objection!" I was so flustered after about the fourth objection that I could barely speak.
My wife did much better. She has a little more lawyer blood in her veins. But in the end, the judge wasn't impressed. Guilty as charged. Pay the fine. He did waive the court fees as a gesture of kindness for my efforts.
I paid the ticket and went home.
But I couldn't sleep. The whole thing just reeked in my mind. So I got up in the middle of the night and wrote a letter to the editor. I entitled it "South River's Cash Cow" and I couldn't wait to mail it the next day to the little local newspaper.
The next morning was 9/11.
My little crusade against short yellow lights in small town USA suddenly didn't seem important any more.
"Perspective" is the one word that keeps coming to my mind as I think of 9/10 and 9/11/2001. What consumed my mind on 9/10 was shown for what it was on 9/11. Petty. Self-absorbed. Inconsequential. And a waste of my time, thoughts, and energy.
It's sad that it often takes a tragic event like 9/11…or a feared diagnosis…or the loss of a friend or loved one…to get our attention and slap us back to what really matters. We are so drawn to the trivial..the temporal…that we miss the essential…the eternal.
I remember 9/11.
Being in NJ, the whole event is still surreal in my mind. Calling friends who I knew worked in NYC and simply being glad to hear their voice. Joining with my brothers and sisters in Christ for a packed prayer service. Driving to a ferry terminal in NJ to volunteer to help. Being less stressed by the little worries of the day. Hugging my wife and kids longer…tighter. Crying more. Feeling more. Living more. Loving more.
I wish those things didn't fade in my mind so quickly.
I wish I focused more on the priorities of 9/11 than the pettiness of 9/10.
